Legendary pop singer Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday at a Beverly Hills, California, hotel, officials said. She was 48. The entertainer, whose incredible talent was discovered at an early age, was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. (6:55 p.m. ET) at the Beverly Hilton hotel despite resuscitation efforts, a police spokesman said. Beverly Hills Police Lt. Mark Rosen said there were "no obvious signs of criminal intent" and that the cause of her death is being investigated. Houston's bodyguard found her body, said Courtney Barnes, publicist for hip-hop artist Ray J, who was dating the pop diva. According to her official website, Houston sold ...
Yahoo Inc Chairman Roy Bostock and three other directors will step down as the struggling company ploughs ahead with an internal overhaul, including discussions on dealing with its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. The corporation - once a Web powerhouse but now agonizing over a range of options to revive flagging growth - on Tuesday said it appointed former Rovi Corp CEO and International Business Machines Corp veteran Alfred Amoroso and ex-eBay COO Maynard Webb as independent directors. Yahoo's board has come under fire from investors impatient with the company's persistent inability to effect a turnaround, and frustrated with the apparent indecisiveness of stakeholders over ...
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has vowed to fight an "anti-business culture" in Britain, warning that a row overexecutive pay and bonuses threatens the country's fragile economic recovery. "Let me say something about the row over bonuses and pay," Osborne said in a speech to the Federation of Small Businesses. "Of course rewards for failure are unacceptable -- and those who believe in the free market are the first to say so. But a strong, free market economy must be built on rewards for success." The Labour Party has heaped pressure on the ruling coalition to curb excessive pay for top executives, using a House of Commons debate to demand the return ...
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday he is resolved to settle a longstanding territorial dispute with Russia at an annual rally calling for the return of all four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido in northern Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. "We'll continue to make steady and determined efforts to move ahead with negotiations," Noda said, stressing the need to sign a peace treaty with Russia. The four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - has been the subject of a territorial dispute between the two nations since the end of World War ...
Amanda Knox's Italian lawyer has filed an appeal of her slander conviction in Italy, a Knox family spokesman inSeattle said Monday. In October, an Italian appeals court overturned the young Seattle woman's murder conviction in the 2007 death of her British roommate in Perugia. But the same court upheld Knox's conviction for slander — for falsely accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of involvement in the slaying. Lumumba was freed after two weeks in prison for lack of evidence. Knox later said she was "manipulated" during her lengthy police interrogation. An appeal of the slander conviction was filed Monday, Knox family spokesman Dave Marriott confirmed. He doesn't know when the Italian ...
The Dutch railway will remain 'vulnerable' during wintry weather but Dutch Rail (NS) and track operator ProRail did not help matters during the current cold snap by the late introduction of schedule adjustments to cope with the conditions, transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told parliament in a briefing on Tuesday. The NS and ProRail assumed on Thursday of last week that there would be three to five centimetres of snow. When the forecast was increased on Friday morning to between 10 and 15 centimetres, it was too late to change the timetables automatically, Schultz van Haegen told parliament. Drivers and conductors ...
Greece can leave the eurozone without damaging monetary union, European digital affairs commissioner Neelie Kroes says in an interview with the Volkskrant on Tuesday. Kroes, a member of the Dutch ruling right-wing Liberal party VVD, is not a supporter of Greece exchanging the euro for the drachma, but says: 'It is absolutely not a case of man overboard if someone leaves the eurozone.' The commissioner is very critical of the new Greek government and says they are not fulfilling their promises. 'Too few spending cuts, too little restructuring,' she says. She says the Greeks should follow the example of Italy where the new ...
Mitt Romney hopes his presidential campaign hasn't ignored Rick Santorum's aggressive attacks for too long, as caucuses in Colorado and Minnesota on Tuesday could reshuffle the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Santorum largely bypassed Florida and Nevada to blanket the two caucus states with criticism of Romney and lay the groundwork among conservatives who have great sway in the process. RivalNewt Gingrich praised Santorum's strategy as shrewd even as he signaled he had no interest in exiting the four-way race, which also includes Ron Paul. "I think that Santorum's going to have a pretty good day," Gingrich told reporters on the eve of the caucuses. "He targeted differently than I ...
Glencore and Xstrata agreed an all-share merger worth $90 billion (56 billion pounds) on Tuesday in the industry's largest ever deal, creating a commodities powerhouse spanning mining, agriculture and trading. Glencore, the world's largest diversified commodities tradinghouse, will issue 2.8 new shares for each Xstrata share in a deal they said was a "merger of equals." The ratio is a 15.2 percent premium to Xstrata shareholders compared with its share price last Wednesday before word leaked out about the merger talks, a joint statement said. "A merger between Glencore and Xstrata offers a unique opportunity to create a new business model in our industry to respond to ...
US White House hopeful Mitt Romney aims for another big caucus win in Colorado on Tuesday, as his well-oiled campaign machine works to cement his position as the Republican front runner in the US presidential race. Polls suggest he should triumph easily in the western US state -- where he scored 60 percent in 2008 -- although there is a tighter race in Minnesota, where last-placed Rick Santorum is hoping to snatch a win. Romney's main rival, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, is battling to stay in the race after two heavy losses in a row to the former Massachusetts governor, who ...
The Japanese government is discussing an option to strip debt-ridden Japan Airlines (JAL) of its international operations to enable it to survive as a domestic carrier, a newspaper reported on Thursday. It calls for rival All Nippon Airways (ANA) to take over JAL’s international flights as part of its downsizing scheme, the Mainichi Shimbun said. The scheme was apparently on the table when key cabinet officials, including Transport... [more]
Nasir Shaikh, whose 53-year-old cousin Akmal Shaikh was executed in the early hours of Tuesday, accused the Chinese authorities of “arrogance” in the way they dealt with the executed Briton’s case. Shaikh, who was convicted of heroin smuggling in China, was executed by lethal injection, in spite of pleas for clemency from human rights campaigners and the British Government. His cousins, Soohail and Nasir, arrived back... [more]
NEW YORK – General Motors Co. is pressing ahead with plans to shut down Saab, though it will continue to hear bids for the Swedish car brand, a company spokesman said Wednesday. Tom Wilkinson said the automaker is not commenting on reports that a deadline for proposals for Saab has been extended to Jan. 7. GM had previously said it was giving bidders until Thursday to come forward with an offer for Saab until it decided earlier this... [more]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Netherlands announced Wednesday it will immediately begin using full body scanners for flights heading to the United States, saying that could have stopped the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing. The U.S. had not wanted these scanners to be used previously because of privacy concerns but now the Obama administration has agreed that “all possible measures will be used on flights to the U.S.,”Dutch... [more]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Dutch government is releasing results of its investigation into the failed Christmas Day terror attack on a U.S.-bound airliner that took off from Amsterdam. Interior Minister Guusje Ter Horst is holding a press conference Wednesday to outline a probe into how 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab managed to board the Northwest Airlines flightto Detroit from Nigeria by way of Amsterdam’s... [more]
HONOLULU – President Barack Obama has ordered a review of how U.S. intelligence organizations keep the skies safe — or don’t, as demonstrated by a failed Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound flight from Amsterdam. Obama has not yet tapped someone to head the multi-agency probe, but White House officials acknowledge the recent incident involving a 23-year-old Nigerian with alleged ties to terrorists has made clear there... [more]
Key states have reached what they call a “meaningful agreement” at the Copenhagen climate summit. Five nations, including China and the US, reached a deal on a number of issues, such as a recognition to limit temperatures rises to less than 2C. US President Barack Obama said it would be a foundation for global action but there was “much further to go”. However, the deal could be rejected as a number of nations expressed... [more]
Four trains have broken down in the Channel Tunnel due to cold weather, as snow is expected to cause further disruption in parts of Britain. The temperature difference between the cold air and warm tunnel caused the trains to break down, Eurostar said. Passengers from two of the services have been moved to different trains; the other trains are to be pushed out. More snow and freezing temperatures are expected for parts of Scotland and south-east... [more]
Police cached 3 people (in Belgium) from France, due to drug possession. At arrival at the police station, the men appeared to be screwed by their dealer. They paid € 500 for a package of 1.2 kg of PAPER. The men were kept on hold (one was 22 year old and two were 20 years old) they paid 500 euro for a package which only contained paper. Hehehehehehehe The stupid Belgium police stopped them because they were not wearing seatbelts but... [more]
BURBANK — Professional travelers know to avoid airports, bus stations, train stations or freeways during Thanksgiving. Planes, trains or automobiles, it’s bedlam. But not this year. While Thanksgiving travel was expected to be up across the nation from last year, travelers arriving at Bob Hope Airport said their holiday jaunts were easy, security lines no problem, and congestion on the runways obsolete. {lang: 'en-US'} function... [more]
